Indicia bearing anodized aluminum articles

• US RE28,506 E
• Filed: 10/15/1974
• Issued: 08/05/1975
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/1971
• Status: Expired

• Current Assignee: N/A
• Original Assignee: N/A
• Application Number:
  US05/514,750
• Time in Patent Office: 294 Days
• US Class Current: 428/203
• CPC Class Codes: N/A

Abstract

The production and use of indicia-bearing anodized layers from which the backing metal has been removed as transparent or translucent elements in articles in which the layer may be laminated to a clear or translucent layer so that the information contained in the anodized layer can be read by direct illumination rather than by reflected light. The information in the pores of this anodized article is preferably in the form of a metal image and of a metal selected from the group consisting of silver, gold, platinum and palladium which is preferably silver and which may be intensified by the electroless deposition of other metals thereon, such metals being selected from the group consisting of nickel, cobalt, iron, copper, chromium, gold, silver, platinum, palladium and mixtures thereof. Products of special interest include edge lighted panels, microfilm, microfiche, photomasks, and printed circuits.

Claims

1. A LAMINATED ARTICLE BEARING AN IMAGE BURIED WITHIN AT LEAST ONE LAMINA OF SAID ARTICLE AND COMPRISING:

AT LEAST ONE CLEAR SUPPORTING PANEL MEMBER, AT LEAST ONE TRANSPARENT POROUS LAYER CONSISTING OF ALUMINUM OXIDE AT LEAST SOME OF THE PORES OF WHICH CONTAIN AN OPAQUE MATERIAL DISTRIBUTED IN SAID PORES SO AS TO DEFINE AN IMAGE, AND A CLEAR ADHESIVE DISPOSED BETWEEN SAID PANEL AND SAID POROUS LAYER AND BONDING SAID PANEL TO SAID POROUS LAYER.

2. The laminated article of claim 1 wherein the opaque material in said pores is a metal selected from the group consisting of silver, gold, palladium and platinum.

3. The laminated article of claim 2 wherein the opaque material includes an additional metal selected from the group consisting of nickel, cobalt, iron, copper, chromium, gold, silver, platinum, palladium and mixtures thereof deposited within the metal coated pores.

4. The laminated article of claim 3 wherein the opaque material is silver.

5. The article of claim 1 wherein the opaque material is a dye.

6. The article of claim 1 including at least one nonporous layer of aluminum oxide covering said porous layer of aluminum oxide.

7. The laminated article of claim 1 wherein the clear supporting panel is colored.

8. The article of claim 1 as a photomask.

9. The article of claim 1 as an identification badge.

10. The article of claim 1 wherein the buried image defines a printed circuit.

11. The article of claim 1 wherein the adhesive is a bead disposed between said clear panel and said porous layer thereby spacing said panel from said layer.

12. The article of claim 1 wherein the transparent porous layer of aluminum oxide is attached to a layer of non-porous aluminum oxide with which it is integral.

13. The article of claim 12 wherein the layer of nonporous aluminum oxide is supported on an aluminum metal base with which it is integral.

14. A laminated article formed by laminating a plurality of the assemblies of claim 1 in face to face relationship and into a siNgle package.

15. An article bearing an image buried within at least one lamina of said article and comprising:

at least one transparent porous oxide layer consisting of aluminum oxide, at least some of the pores of which contain an agent capable of catalytically depositing conductor metals and an opaque material deposited on said agent and said pores so as to define an image;

a clear adhesive material disposed on said porous oxide layer and filling said pores; and

a metal deposited in the pores of said porous oxide layer said metal being deposited on said agent.

16. The article of claim 15 wherein the agent is a metal selected from the group consisting of silver, gold, palladium and platinum.

17. The article of claim 15 wherein the opaque material includes an additional metal selected from the group consisting of nickel, cobalt, iron, copper, chromium, gold, silver, platinum, palladium and mixtures thereof deposited within the metal coated pores.

18. The article of claim 15 wherein the metal in said pores is silver.

19. The article of claim 15 wherein the adhesive is an epoxy resin.